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2234: Cowplain
Evangelical, Cowplain, Hampshire, England

Mystery
Worshipper: Augustine.The church:Cowplain
Evangelical, Cowplain, Hampshire, England.Denomination:
Independent. They are linked with the Fellowship
of Independent Evangelical Churches.The building:
A brick built building, extended forward around 2001 to create
a more open and welcoming space behind the main worship space.
This is used for the coffee shop during the week and as overflow
space for the church. Inside the church is well modernised and
comfortable, although the wash of purple and pink over the pastor's
platform from LED spotlights wasn't to my personal taste.The church:
They seem to serve their own members well, and are open and
engaged with the local community. The coffee shop is a regular
feature for the local community and the older church members.
Some of the congregation seem to travel some distance to come
to this church. There are several other groups meeting weekly
for various sections of the community: ladies, men, older folk,
etc.The neighbourhood:
Cowplain is a small village in southeast England. It seems to
be a typical ribbon development along the main road from somewhere
to somewhere else. I don't think any of the shops or architecture
are likely to lure people to Cowplain particularly, although
the residents appear to be proud of their restaurants: Thai,
Indian, Italian and Chinese. The local pub, called the Spotted
Cow, is said to have given the village its name. The church
is about 50 metres up a side street from the main road through
Cowplain, and has a car park next to it.The cast:
The Revd Phill Brown, pastor, led the whole service, but was
supported by an able music group.The date & time:
28 August 2011, 10.30am.

What was the name of the service?
Discovery Service.

How full was the building?
The original church building, furnished with chairs, was mostly
full. The entrance/coffee area which can be used for overflow
wasn't needed. There were maybe 100 people there; it looks like
they could accommodate 150 fairly easily.

Did anyone welcome you
personally?
I was welcomed at the door with a handshake, a hello and the
question "Would you like one?"  which I presume referred
to the service sheet. Thereafter, a standard "Welcome to our
visitors" from the pastor up front, then no more welcomes until
being greeted during coffee.

Was your pew comfortable?
They use comfy individual metal chairs with upholstered backs
and seats (and curious hinged metal book pockets that also had
provision for an individual communion cup, I guess). No complaints
about comfort. I survived the hour and ten minutes well.

How would you describe
the pre-service atmosphere?
Before the service there was recorded music and much chatting
among people who knew each other. The service countdown 
yes, literally  started five minutes before the service,
with a clock pulsing on the overhead screen as it counted down
to zero (rather like the BBC World News countdown). Shortly
after zero, the pastor bounded up onto the stage and took his
place centre-stage behind his lectern.

What were the exact opening
words of the service?
"Good morning and welcome. Would you please stand to worship
our Lord Jesus Christ and Son of God." Then straight into the
first song.

What books did the congregation use during the
service?
No books. Everything was on the screen, although many people
used their own Bibles for the reading. The service sheet also
had an insert where we all diligently filled in the blanks as
Pastor Phill spoke to us during the sermon. Despite sounding
a bit trite, it actually worked well. I saw lots of people afterward
putting their papers away to take home.

What musical instruments
were played?
Keyboard, acoustic guitar, electric bass and drums, plus two
singers miked up. The worship worked well and wasn't too loud.
It seemed a bit programmed  we only had one ad hoc repetition
of a final line in one song (responding to the sense of worship).

Did anything distract
you?
The countdown before the start of the service was distracting.
I didn't really know how to respond to it. It certainly didn't
help me prepare to worship, nor did it seem to help the worship
team, who continued to drink mugs of tea until just before the
off.

Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or
what?
Fairly middle of the road for a church like this. A few hands
were raised in some songs, but no dancing that I noticed, just
some hip swinging by those with flowing skirts. The number of
verses and choruses were all programmed into their worship software
and stuck to throughout.

Exactly how long was the sermon?
34 minutes.

On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher?
8  Pastor Phill was very clear in his sermon and communicated
well. He was direct and accessible, asking questions like "Would
you agree with me that people are weird?" (Sadly it wasn't Pentecostal
enough to have a chorus of Amens to this question!). He managed
to engage the youths that had chosen to stay in church, and
I didn't see anyone nod off. Writing on our sheets where we
had "fill in the blank" slots kept us all focused.

In a nutshell, what was the sermon
about?
It was session six of a series on "Counter-cultural Jesus" focusing
on "How to forgive." It answered two questions: (1) What happens
when I don't forgive? and (2) How can I forgive? It answered
the questions with sufficient background and explanation for
those who were there to "discover" at this "discovery
service."

Which part of the service was like being in
heaven?
There was no rapture for me, but being warm and comfortable certainly stopped me complaining. The photos of nature used as background for some of the songs were encouraging, and helped me fix my eyes on things above.

And which part was like being in... er... the other place?
Having had the countdown to the service onscreen, I was fearful
that there would be other PowerPoint monstrosities. Only being
allowed at maximum two lines per slide on the screen meant that
the sense of shape you get from seeing verses and choruses in
their entirety was lost.

What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?
Nothing until I queued up for coffee, when I was welcomed again.
Then, as I stood with my coffee, I was introduced to someone
else by a third party and left to chat with them. I excused
myself when I had to leave, but I would think that others would
have approached me if I had been given fresh opportunity to
look lonely and lost.

How would you describe the after-service
coffee?
It tasted surprisingly good, and the plastic beaker came in
a cardboard sleeve to make it easy to hold. Some biscuits were
available (digestives and ginger creams), and no requests for
money, thankfully. Tea and squash also available.

How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
7  People seemed genuine, friendly and focused on applying
the Bible to their lives. That's attractive to me, although
I did feel a bit like despite it being a discovery service for
people who don't usually come to church, it was actually focused
on the regulars.

Did the service make you feel glad to be a
Christian?
It was good to be with the body of Christ, and there was a sense that a few visits would make it start to feel like family.

What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time?
That countdown to the service.

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